The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1887-06-29
TEE
Lambertville Record.
Lambertville, N. ].
FARM LIFE IN CAPE COLONY.
Land Of Goats Flesh and Honey-Abund-
ance OF Game.


A Land Of Goats Flesh and Honey--Abund-
ance of Game.
Agricultural conditions in South Africa
diner greatly from those in this country. A
colonist, writing to the London 81. James Ca
setse, gives this picture Of the Cape Colony
farmers life:
AT six o'clock each morning earlier in
the summer-atter Sally, our little Kaffir
maid-ofall-work, has brought to each of us.
while in bed the matutinal cup of coffee
without Which no Cape farmer, British or
Dutch, begins the day one of our number
rises and goes to the adjacent kraal to count
the goats as they issue forth in charge of
tnelr hatnr herds to pasture ON the noun
1.-the Kafir from Galekaland more com.
monty known as John, has slaughtered at
the back of the house Ia single-storied brick
built messuage, hat-roofed and whitewashed.
and perched high on the mountain-side near
a perennial fountain) the goat which each
day is sacrificed for the needs of our house
hold; and the kidneys, fry, and a chop or
two are grilled for breakfast. Honey, found
IN abundance in the rocks around lIs takes
the place of marmalade. Breakfast over.
one OF us rides off to the broad shallow kloof
three miles further away in the mountains,
where our horses and mules are run. under
the care of Tobias, our Dutch servant. An
other OF us busies himself marking goats;
whilst third there are three of us-one
married) takes on his back a dead kid well
primed with strychnine pills, meaning to
deposit 1t in small kloof across the valley
Tor the benefit of one of the numerous Loop
ards which infest our farm. This is the only
method of keeping down these night ma
rauders, which do cruel execution on our
hocks and foals. Then attention must be
given to the little patch of alluvial land by
the dry river-bed, where we grow sufficient
fOF or rrJ0r. ~ 4.
done. A gun or rifle is usually carried; for
game, feathered and furred, is plentiful and
is ever a welcome change from the mo-
notony of goat-hesh. Meanwhile the wife
OF the Benedict amongst us is busy, super,
intending the washing, cooking, and other
education of her little fair-haired girl, our
pride and delight. Katie, our cook, vel
low lady of mixed race (Hottentot, Kaffir
and Bushman intermingled) attends to the
baking of our cookies cakes of unleav-
ened meal which usurp the place of bread,
too--in o hole in the ground, heated in the
native fashion. If we do not make money
nowadays as we did few years since, when
the railways were being built, we live ina
rude plenty: meat in abundance is ours,
dried fruits-quinces and peaches, ex-
cellent when stewed-bought from the
Beers who pass us occasionally with
wagon loads of produces oranges and grapes
in season from the irrigated farms of Beers
out beyond the Poort, whence we emerge
from our mountain home; and porridge of
pounded mealies and milk occasionally.
Goats milk we have in plenty, but no butter
or cream, for cows and oxen do not flourish
upon our stsur eoldt Game abounds with
us. Our mountains support several kinds
of antelope-the klipspringer, rhebok of two
sorts, eati and roof (gray and red),
duykerbok, and an occasional koodoo;
the latter one of the noblest of the
South African fauna, carrying magnif-
icent spiral horns and weighing from 400 to
800 pounds Francolins and bustards and
other feathered game are also plentiful. A
days shooting forms pleasant break in the
monotonous round of our existence. The
chase of the beautiful antelopes that yet re-
main to us, the varied splendor of our noun
tain scenery, rich In glorious flowers, and
perfect climate, are indeed our chief pleas
ures; though, sad to say, they hardly com
pensate to us the lack Of more sordid pelf.
Our rocks are rough; but smiling there
TIL acacia waves her yellow hair,
Lonely and sweet, nor loved the less
For Towering in the wilderness.
Our sands are bare but down their slope
The silvery footed antelope
As gracefully and gayly springs
As In the marble courts of kings.